African Film Festival

Joe Bendel

Joe Bendel
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Based in New York, Joe Bendel has reviewed film, television, music, and theater for nineteen years, in print and online. In addition to his site, J.B. Spins, he frequently contributes reviews to The Epoch Times, specializing in mystery/thriller series, documentaries, and Asian cinema. As a critic he has attended in-person international film festivals, including Sundance, Slamdance, Fantasia, and the New York Film Festival, as officially accredited press. He has also written for Nightfire, Libertas Film Magazine, and Signal to Noise (the dearly departed experimental music print magazine). He has over twenty-five years of experience in the book publishing industry and has taught film and music survey courses at NYU’s School of Continuing Studies. Bendel also coordinated the Jazz Foundation of America’s instrument donation drive for musicians displaced by Hurricane Katrina. He is a graduate of Wittenberg University and the University of Denver Publishing Institute.
Based in New York, Joe Bendel has reviewed film, television, music, and theater for nineteen years, in print and online. In addition to his site, J.B. Spins, he frequently contributes reviews to The Epoch Times, specializing in mystery/thriller series, documentaries, and Asian cinema. As a critic he has attended in-person international film festivals, including Sundance, Slamdance, Fantasia, and the New York Film Festival, as officially accredited press. He has also written for Nightfire, Libertas Film Magazine, and Signal to Noise (the dearly departed experimental music print magazine). He has over twenty-five years of experience in the book publishing industry and has taught film and music survey courses at NYU’s School of Continuing Studies. Bendel also coordinated the Jazz Foundation of America’s instrument donation drive for musicians displaced by Hurricane Katrina. He is a graduate of Wittenberg University and the University of Denver Publishing Institute.

“Bullet Train Explosion” : The Film Represents Kusanagi’s Best Starring Vehicle Yet

©Courtesy of Netflix  It released in 1975, the year after “The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3“, but it directly inspired Jan de Bont’s Speed (with Kanu Reeves, of course). Now, the Japanese transit disaster-thriller “Bullet Train“ has been remade, but in a way that clearly pays tribute to the original. Once again, there is a bomb…

‘Sherlock & Daughter’ : It Should Satisfy the Fanbase, Makes This CW’s Oldest Skewing Series Yet

©Courtesy of CW Sherlock Holmes only had one canonical relative in Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories, his older brother Mycroft, a late Victorian deep-state power broker. However, subsequent writers and filmmakers keep adding siblings, like his teen sister Enola and his “smarter” younger brother Sigerson (played by Gene Wilder). Frankly, the prickly detective never showed…

“Your Friends & Neighbors” Review : A Compelling & Darkly Comic One-Darned-Thing-After-Another Chaos

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New York International Children’s Film Festival : Michel Gondry’s Maya, Give Me a Title Review

©Courtesy of NYICFF So far, Michel Gondry has only released about a dozen features, but his prolific filmography includes dozens of short films and music videos. Unfortunately, we may never have a chance to see his Pharell Williams musical Golden, which was reportedly cancelled due to a creative impasse. Instead, we finally get to enjoy…

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuux -Beginning-Review

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“The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep” Displays a Keen Understanding of Its Source Material and an Affinity for Its Fans

©Courtesy of Netflix  Much like Philadelphia has its Rocky Balboa statue, the Polish city of Lodz features an enormous 2,000 square meter mural of Geralt of Rivia, the monster-fighter-for-hire also known as “The Witcher.” First Andrzej Sapkowski’s stories were adapted as a Polish film and TV series. Then, Netflix produced an English language series, starring…

One Night in Tokyo Might Be Predictable, But It Is Appealingly Stylish

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“Attack on Titan: The Last Attack” Provides Many Fan-Favorites with the Fitting Warrior’s Send-Offs They Deserve

©Courtesy of Crunchyroll Hajime Isayama’s bestselling manga franchise sold over 140 million copies during its original run, spawning 94 episodes of a long-running anime adaptation, as well as two live action films and a theatrical stage-musical. Eventually, all good things come to an end. Unfortunately, that might include humanity. After initially swearing vengeance against the…

“Dog Man” : Dav Pilkey Offers Amusing, Low-Stress Entertainment!

©Courtesy of Universal Pictures  The catalyst for this comic book character’s conception was sort of like The Breakfast Club. Technically, he was created by author-illustrator Dav (No “E”) Pilkey, through his fictional school children, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, who dreamed up the crime-fighting canine while serving detention together. (The creative duo also supposedly “invented”…

Sundance Film Festival : Mr. Nobody Against Putin Review

©Courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival “Hailed” as one of the most polluted cities in the world, Karabash regularly draws obnoxious YouTubers, who mock its toxic Communist-era legacy. It is exactly the kind of economically-marginalized provincial Russian city that disproportionately supplies recruits and conscripts for Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine. Karabash is 1,600 miles from…